The deal for Lotus to use Mercedes power units from 2015 will be confirmed in the next few days. At one stage an announcement was scheduled for yesterday, but it could now come at the start of next week.

The new arrangement sees Lotus take over the supply made available by McLaren’s move to Honda next season.

Lotus has only scored points in four of the eight races this season. (Photo: Getty Images)

Lotus could be set to switch from Renault to Mercedes power in 2015, well-placed sources have confirmed.

Inevitably there has been some tension between Renault and Lotus this season. Lotus has been late with payments to the French manufacturer over the past couple of seasons, while the reliability and performance problems associated with the power unit have proved frustrating to the team.

Pastor Maldonado has had a difficult season with Lotus in 2014, leading many to speculate whether the Venezualan would be able to keep his ride if he lost his financial backing. (Photo: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic)

Pastor Maldonado has denied suggestions that his PDVSA backing is under threat, after Venezuela’s sports minister said that there would be no more support for the country’s racing drivers.

Maldonado insisted that Antonio Alvarez had nothing to do with PDVSA’s sponsorship of Lotus.

There’s been a further change to the entry list for next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) announced Tuesday the withdrawal of Lotus, which was set to compete in the new-for-2014 LMP1-L class.

The Kodewa-run effort, which had faced delays with the build of the new Lotus T129 AER, has given way for Millennium Racing to rejoin the field. The UAE-backed effort, run by Britain’s Delta Motorsport, was originally forced out of the race due to delays in their funding.

Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez has hit out at Renault after the F1 engine supplier revealed some of its customers are behind in payments.

Although Renault chief Jean-Michel Jalinier’s comments in Barcelona also triggered rumors about the future of Caterham, suspicion also fell on Lotus, who last year were famously late to pay Kimi Raikkonen.